New Ulm weekly review., 1887-05-04
WRITTEN ON HIS KNEE,

:
WRITTEN ON HIS KNEE,
HeW Abraham Lincoln Composed his Celebrated
Gettysburg Grafton.
81 saw one Of the most splendid Of
compositions in the English tongue
said ex-Congressman Ed
ward Mcpherson. while chatting
about some OF his recollections Of Lin
coin recently 'Ibelieve that it is ad-
mitted now by scholars that for sub
Unity OF thought, simplicity and yet
elegance of expression. lucldity and
purity Of diction, Mr.. Lincoln's brief
oration at the dedication OF the Ma
tional Cemetery at Gettysburg takes
place with the loftiest specimens OF
oratory. Many regard it as the one
oration of this century that will be
preserved with the English tongue.
Yet Mr.. Lincoln wrote it on his knee
in railroad car. It was practically
an extemporaneous composition; that
IS, in the sense that it was wholly un-
premeditated. He simply committed
to paper the thought that was upper
most in his mind, and he had on idea
whatever that he had written any
thing more than passing thought IN
the event that he was to assist in
commemorating. !,
II represented the Gettysburg dis
drict in Congress at the time Of the
battle, and at the dedication of the
cemetery Mr.. Lincoln was my guest.
He was not sure that he could be
present when he was first asked, but
said that he should 60 to Gettysburg
if possible. I think he was not pre-
pared to say positively that he would
60 until a very few hours before the
time set for leaving Washington. So
he could not have given any thought
to the oratlon before. | was his seat
mate in the car, and though he talked
pleasantly, and spoke OF the country
through which we were passing, yet I
thought he was laborlng with one of
those spells of profound melancholy
with which he was at times afflicted.
He spoke of Mr.. Everett, who was to.
deliver the chief oration. and said
that Everett ought to be at his best.
knew that Mr.. Everett had given
even more than his usual care in pre-.
pairing this oration, and looked upon
his work as masterpiece, and
/ believe I told Mr.. Lincoln
so, and he said that the theme was
great enough to inspire such an ora.
tor as Everett to his best. Mr.. Lin.
coin, think, had not thought of say
ing anything himself, but I told him.
he would be expected to make q few re-
marks, foD it would not be permitted
him to be silent. He sat for some
moments absorbed in thought, and
at last began to feel in his pockets,
as if for loose paper. l asked him if
he wanted paper and pencil, and he
said eyes, a scrap Of paper" and I
opened my valise and gave him two
or three sheets of note paper. He
drew up his long knees, and, putting
a book on them, wrote, jotting down,
as I supposed, few heads or sugges.
tions. He wrote right along, without
hesitation Or erasure, and filled one
page and part of another. Then he
folded it up and put it in his pocket,
simply saying that he had set down a
few lines that had occurred to him to
say.
:At the cemetery, at the proper
time, he arose, put on his spectacles,
and drew these sheets from his pock-
ct. do not think he had looked at
them again after writing them in the
cars, and in low voice, which could
be heard but a few feet away from the
stage, he read those splendid lines.
The few who heard him were most
profoundly impressed, but upon the
vast throng who saw him the oration
made no impression whatever, be-
cause few heard it. No proper report
of the oration was made, and Mr..
Lincoln crumpled the manuscript up
and would very likely have thrown it
away if had not asked him for it.
1t was not until it had been printed
in newspaper and then widely copied
that it's wonderful beauty, both in
thought and literary workmanship,
was recognized, and Mr.. Lincoln was
very much surprised to learn that
scholars were quoting it as the best
model of pure English and true elo-
quence the language had furnished, at
least in America. -
There is. no doubt, according to Mr..
McPherson, and others who knew
Lincoln we'll. that he was very greatly
gratifed with the evidence that he re-
ceived in the last years OF his life that
scholars and cultivated writer's were
paying the highest tribute to his
charms as writer OF English. But,
he was even more surprised at it. He
knew that cultivated men, even after
his debates with Douglas, and after
his first inaugural, were OF theopinion
that he was utterly without other lit.
erary powers than those ofgood stump
speakers He was believed to be a
man OF strong character, but wholly.
without literary polish, and it was
generally believed that such polish,as,
his greatest speeches, such as that de-
livered in Cooper Institute in the win
ter OF 1860 revealed, was the work;of
some cultivated friends or some skill
ful secretaries He, had advanced far
in his first term before his literary
q I;1i4ioS hooor 30 ho o5poi4%o1 h7r